The year was 2007 and Jen Smith had just returned home from France after winning her first ASP Women’s Longboard World Title. Though jet lagged and exhausted from the festivities, Jen met me for a quick surf at Cardiff Reef. Perhaps the reef itself sensed everyone’s depleted energy levels and didn’t really offer much in the way of quality waves. Jen rode a few, touched the nose a couple of times, and returned the beach to her anxiously waiting dog, Colin.

In retrospect, this session was never going to be about Jen riding waves. Instead, the lazy day was more about reconnecting—the return back to a normal pace of life in her beloved San Diego and to meeting up with friends of both the furry and human variety who were waiting to congratulate her on her world title. Looking back, I can’t really remember anything from that day other than the look in Colin’s eyes as he saw Jen leaving the water to take him for a walk. A world title is amazing no doubt, but the love of a good friend is priceless beyond words.

Thank you for dropping by for another installment of Surf Photo Friday. Have a great weekend everyone …and as always, thank you for your support of Jettygirl. Please consider helping out with a “Pay Whatever You Like” subscription to the site. Every little bit helps!

Jettygirl School of Sick Tricks:Fin-first Takeoffs with Jennifer Smith

(2009) It’s time for a new edition of JettyGirl’s School of Sick Tricks and who better to provide a lesson than 2007 ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion, Jennifer Smith. It’s no surprise why Jen has achieved so much in her surfing career. Not only is she driven, but she is a masterful technician. Look at any sequence of Jen and examine how her head, shoulders and arms never move from a balanced position. In this “Sick Tricks” segment, Jen shares the secrets of the fin-first takeoff. Enjoy! Check the video too! –Chris Grant

Fin-first takeoffs are one of my favorite “tricks” to do on a longboard. It’s the ideal move to try on a crummy day when you need a little something to stoke you out and/or just want to challenge yourself. At first this trick may seem impossible. You may be sent flying a few (or few hundred) times before you stick it. Once this maneuver is in your bag of tricks though, it will be there forever. When you are learning this move it’s best to try it on smaller, less steep faces.

The first step is getting into the wave. You want to have your fins in front, slightly out of the water …so scoot back just a bit while paddling. Once you have caught the wave and are riding with your fins out in front, you need to lean slightly in the direction you want the board to spin. As soon as the water catches the fins the board will automatically start to turn under you. I usually get pretty low and sometimes drag my hand for extra control.

When you feel the board start to spin you are basically just guiding it with your feet and body. I use my back leg to push the nose end around under me. It is a similar motion to a pop shuv-it on a skateboard. Letting the board spin under you until the nose end is facing forward, you want to adjust your stance midway through and “catch” the board with your feet. There will be a split second where only one foot is touching your board. Sometimes you come off completely as the board swings under you. As you adjust your stance and are getting ready to stick this maneuver, think about finishing with a stance you can ride away in. I usually set my front foot first then make sure my back foot plants itself far enough back to be stable and in control.

At first the main goal is to get the board around under your feet and ride away any way possible. Once you can pull the fin-first take off you can start thinking about coming out of it and riding down the line. When you are in this stage you basically just have to catch your board under your feet and set your line before the wave passes you by.

One more tip for this sick trick …the best way to be in control of this move is to keep your body positioned above your board and fully commit to pulling the maneuver. Don’t lean too far back and don’t hesitate. if anything, lean forward so your momentum will be moving forward.

WANNING, Hainan Island/China (Wednesday, 26 October, 2011) – The SWATCH Girls Pro China hosted by Wanning launched professional surfing in China today with the world’s best female longboarders taking to the waves at Riyuewan Bay, Hainan Island. The 2 – 3 foot (1.5 meter) surf was ideal for the surfers to unleash their full bags of tricks with competitors mixing modern and traditional moves much to the delight of the hundreds of fans on the beach.

The SWATCH Girls Pro China is the second of two events on the ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour and the event that will decide the 2011 ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion. The Title race is wide open, making this not only an historic event, but an exciting one too.

Kaitlin Maguire (USA) won the first ever ASP heat in China in the opening heat of the inaugural SWATCH Girls Pro China over Hiroka Yoshikawa (JPN).

“It feels amazing!” Maguire said. “It was pretty stressful out there, I’m happy for it to be over and finish on top. It’s so good to be here and experience the different culture. The wave looks like it has a lot of potential so I’m looking forward to the rest of the event.”

Ophelie Ah-Kouen (REU) won a nail-biter of a heat against Isabele Braly (AUS). Both surfers put some solid scores on the board but it was Ah-Kouen who took the heat by less than 1 point.

“I feel good because I won, but it was a very difficult heat,” Ah-Kouen said. “I was very nervous, but now I feel ok, hopefully I will do better in the next round. It’s so good to be here in China, Hainan is a beautiful island and the waves are good.”

[frame_right src=”http://www.jettygirl.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/WilliamsSwatchGPChina11WHS032-150×100.jpg” href=”http://www.jettygirl.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/WilliamsSwatchGPChina11WHS032.jpg”]Chelsea Williams[/frame_right]
Chelsea Williams (AUS) was the standout performer of the day earning a near perfect 18.80 out of a possible 20. Williams looked right at home on the long left runners, carving and nose-riding bigger and longer than anyone else. Williams will now face Leah Dawson (USA) in the next round.

“I’m pretty surprised I won, I couldn’t hear the announcers out in the water,” Williams said. “I had no idea how I was going until I came into the shore and heard that I’d won. The wave is fun, it’s a little soft left-hander. I love going left because it’s my forehand and I don’t get the chance to go left very often. China is really cool, it’s tropical and not like we expected.”

“I was a little nervous because I know the conditions can be tough out there,” Steinriede said. “On my first wave I was definitely a little jittery, I’d been waiting a while and was excited to get out there. It’s also a while between events and I have a full-time job so you have to switch competition mode off for a little bit, but it doesn’t take long to turn it back on.”

Darci Lui (CHN), the first ever Chinese national to compete at an ASP event, lost her heat against an in-form 2 x ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion Jennifer Smith. Lui lost the battle, but did the locals proud with hundreds cheering everytime she got to her feet.

“It’s been a great opportunity for me to surf against these girls,” Lui said. “Even though I lost I’m so happy! This is such a great event for China, I’m so proud to have this event here.”

[frame_left src=”http://www.jettygirl.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Meador042SGPC11WHS-150×100.jpg” href=”http://www.jettygirl.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Meador042SGPC11WHS.jpg”]Kassia Meador[/frame_left]Kassia Meador (USA) the number 3 seed had a tough start to her SWATCH Girls Pro China campaign. Meador pulled off some big moves but was unable to link them together on one wave and snuck through to the next round with a couple of small scores.

“I felt really shaky out there,” Meador said. “It’s been a long day, maybe I’m dehydrated. I couldn’t really find my feet out there. Hopefully I got all my falling off out of the way for the rest of the event.”

A call will be made at 7am tomorrow for a possible 7:30 start, there’s a chance that the SWATCH Girls Pro China will finish tomorrow and that a new ASP Women’s World Longboard Champion will be crowned.

The 2011 ASP Women’s WLT consists of two events with the final event unfolding at the Swatch Girls Pro in China.

Steinriede put on a stellar performance while taking her first major elite ASP victory and built momentum throughout the day before earning the event’s highest single-wave score of an 7.5 in the final to secure her victory over Smith.

“It feels amazing, I don’t think it has really set in yet and it is slowly starting to,” Steinriede said. “Champagne in the face kind of wakes you up more. (laughs) . I think I am still in shock right now. I was in the final and I won and now it is all over. It is just crazy.”

Steinriede was consistent throughout the final day of competition and earned two of the highest-heat totals before topping her compatriot in the Final and is now the woman to be in the hunt for the 2011 ASP Women’s World Longboard Title.

“I started out with such a hard heat in my quarter-final so I knew that I had to be on top of my game and just do what I can,” Steinriede said. “She (Smith) is always someone hard to beat in the final or in any heat. She is a great competitor and there wasn’t any bad blood out there so it was a fun final.”

Smith ousted fellow American standouts Kassia Meador and Kelly Nicely in her Semifinals and Quarterfinals heats, but was unable to find the scores needed in the Final’s tricky conditions to surpass Steinriede.

“I had no pressure, at least not any more than in my past finals here but the waves turned off and it wasn’t easy,” Smith said. “I am so proud of Lindsay (Steinriede), she deserves to win after getting such good scores the whole event.”

Smith, who has won two Roxy Pro Biarritz titles, now sits at No. 2 on the ASP Women’s WLT rankings and is still in excellent position to potentially clinch a third ASP WLT Crown entering the final event of the season.

Kassia Meador was also a strong addition on the California front at the Roxy Pro Biarritz. The iconic longboarding talent marched to an equal 3rd place result in France when she fell to eventual runner-up, Smith, in the Semifinals.

“It is my best result this year, I have had a great time and if I am going to lose to anybody I want it to be Jennifer (Smith),” Meador said. “I tried as hard as I could and I am stoked. I am looking forward to China, it’s going to be a whole new vibe. I’m looking forward to a new place and a whole new culture and waves and of course coming back here to France next year. I always love coming here, great waves and parties and can’t wait for it.”

The 2011 ASP Women’s WLT Champion will be crowned at the inaugural Swatch Girls Pro China hosted by Wanning.

ASP International Confirms Roxy Pro in Biarritz to ASP Women’s World Title Schedule

VILLA BELZA, Biarritz/France (Thursday, April 28, 2011) –ASP International and Roxy are proud to confirm that the ASP Women’s Longboard World Title (WLT) event that traditionally comes to Biarritz during July will be joined this year by the ASP Top 17 as well as wildcard Lee-Ann Curren (FRA), 20, for the sixth event of the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title season, the Roxy Pro Biarritz.

The world’s best female surfers will surf alongside the some of the world’s best noseriders, including Jennifer Smith (USA) double World Champion and icon of the discipline, Kassia Meador (USA).

The two competitions will be run during the same period. The Roxy Jam will be renamed the Roxy Pro for this occasion. On the longboard side, the girls will compete in the first of two legs of the ASP Women’s World Longboard Circuit in Biarritz on the Cote des Basques, whilst the surfers will compete in their penultimate event of the season at nearby Villa Belza, or at one of neighboring spots, which will have a mobile structure to have the best wave conditions.

The Roxy Pro, July 11th – 17th July in Biarritz:
· First of two legs of the ASP Women’s World Longboard Championship 2011.
· Sixth and penultimate event of the ASP World Shortboard Championship 2011.

Californian carver Jensen, who has placed 2nd in the LQS men’s division at the Malfunction for the past two years, finally etched his name onto the event’s winner’s list, beating Buderim’s Mitch Surman, former ASP Men’s World Longboard Champion Josh Constable and Currumbin’s Jackson Close in an entertaining final.

“It feels pretty good to finally win this event,” said Jensen, who claimed US $2000 and 250 rating points.

“I started off really slow. I couldn’t get a wave, fell on my first one and wasn’t feeling great. But I finally lucked into a couple smaller ones which ran along the bank.”

The lanky natural foot accruing a 9.33 and an 8.82 to finish in the numero-uno position on 18.16 points (out of a possible 20).

Despite his third placing in the day’s blue ribbon final, Constable heads the men’s LQS ratings ahead of Jensen, with Surman, Jared Neal (Coffs Harbour) and Harley Ingleby (Emerald Beach) rounding out the top 5. The final event of the Australasian LQS is the Whalebone Classic, which starts on July 16.

Smith, the two-time ASP Women’s World Longboard champion (2007 and 2009), was in a class of her own in the 30-minute finale, schooling Melissa Combo (Ballina), Emma Webb (Victoria) and Jodie Barsby (Crescent Head) with a combined two-wave total of 14.14, which included a 6.47 on her opening ride and an even stronger 7.67.

Smith, who claimed a second place at the Noosa Festival, said she was eager to taste victory in the LQS women’s division during her time in Australia.

“It’s been good,” she said. “Getting second at Noosa was the main reason I came to the Malfunction. I wasn’t going to do it and coming so close in Noosa I wanted to do better. I haven’t done well in Australia over the past few years, so it feels good to win.”